Tuesday, January 19, 2010

A fair-haired beauty at 19, Lady Mairi is heiress apparent to her
father Lord Dunwythie's rich barony. He has carefully taught her how to
manage their estates, but a feud between his clan and the Maxwell clan
is brewing as the two families edge toward a clan war - their dispute
over money owed. Mairi's father believes he owes nothing, and of course
Mairi sides with him.

When the impulsive and blue-eyed Rob Maxwell chances to meet Mairi in a
barley field, they feel instant attraction, despite their families'
antagonisms. Knowing he must put his clan first, Rob enacts a plan to
force Dunwythie to pay his debt: Rob kidnaps Mairi, making the
abduction appear the work of a stranger; then he and his
sheriff-brother offer to help Dunwythis rescue his daughter IF, and
only if, he will pay them the monies due. Yet after Rob captures
Mairi's body, she captures his heart. When Dunwythie summons the aid of
the most powerful clan in all Scotland (the Douglases), clan-tensions
rise to a fever pitch. Love takes its own feverish course, as Mairi and
Rob join forces to prevent a clash between hot-headed clans, and to
protect their budding love.

My Mini-Review:

I'm about half-way through this book and I am really enjoying it. The beginning was a little slow when I was trying to sort out the characters, but once it gets going it gets going well. I have enjoyed getting to know each of the main characters, Rob and Mairi along with the secondary characters such as Mairi's sister Fiona, Rob's grandmother, the kitten Rob takes home and Gibby. Each character really adds something to the story. The scenery described is also beautiful and the plot is really interesting. Reviewing books is really expanding my horizons as I haven't read many books with kidnapping as part of the plot, but I find I enjoy this plotline and look forward to finishing this book, probably later today. When I finish I will update with a full review. But suffice it to say - with the half I have read, this is definitely a good historical romance read and my first by Ms. Scott, who I see has quite a backlist to checkout.

About the Author:

Amanda Scott, best-selling author and winner of the Romance Writers of
America's RITA/Golden Medallion and The Romantic Times' awards for Best
Regency Author and Best Sensual Regency, began writing on a dare from
her husband. She has sold every manuscript she has written. More than
twenty-five of her books are set in the English Regency period
(1810-1820), others are set in fifteenth-century England and
sixteenth-and eighteenth-century Scotland. Three are contemporary
romances. Amanda lives with her husband and son in northern California.

****Giveaway****

Thanks to Hachette Books I have 5 copies of Seduced by a Rogue by Amanda Scott to give away for entrants in the US/Canada. Giveaway runs through 2/2/2010. Comment to enter, extra entries for following (rss, email, blogger, twitter), tweeting, posting on your blog. Just let me know what you do.